This 'them' and 'they' have a long history. In fact, the German philosopher Martin Heidegger believed that these ideas were basic to the human condition.

In Being and Time, Heidegger wrote of 'das Man' referring to the anonymous 'they' we bow to. 'They' say refugees are terrorists. 'They' say the Duchess of Cambridge is having twins. Another translation is 'one': 'one' does not question press releases.